Device for controlling fluids.



P. PLANTINGA. DEVICE FOR CONTROLLING FLUIDS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 12, 1909.

Patented May 9, 1911.

2 SHEETBSHEET 1.

zzzz55555 P. PLANTINGA. DEVICE FOR CONTROLLING FLUIDS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 12, 1909.

Patented May 9, 1911.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 minute of the air to PIERRE PLANTINGA, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

DEVICE FOR CONTROLLING FLUIDS;

, Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 9, 1911.

Application filed May 12, 1909. Serial No. 495,476.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PIERRE PLANTINGA, a citizen of the United States, resident of Cleveland, county of Cuyahoga, and State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Devices for Controlling Fluids, of which the following is a specification, the principle of the invention being herein explained and the best mode in which I have contemplated applying thatprinciple, so as to distinguish it from other inventions.

My invention relates to devices for controlling the fiow of air or other gases and particularly to the control of the air-supply to the producer of a gas generating apparatus.

The object of the invention is to effect such air-control automatically, so as to produce a constant flow per minute through the producer during the blow thereby uniformly maintaining the quantity and quality of the gas produced in the apparatus, as will be me ily understood by those skilled in the art.

I am aware that means have heretofore been employed for definitely controlling the quantity and quality of the gas produced, wherein a gage for indicating the flow per the producer was employed, together with a manually operable valve. By these means, the attendant was enabled to manipulate such valve in accordance with the reading of the gage, so as to introduce a definite volume of air during the interval of each blow, regardless of fire and other conditions in the apparatus. In such previously employed apparatus, however, the fiow per minute of the air was not constant, and varied from time to time. Such variation was then manually corrected and only at such times as the attendant was aware of such variation and subsequently changed the valve opening to increase or decrease the flow of air accordingly.

y invention consists of means hereinafter fully described and particularly set forth in the claim.

The annexed drawing'and the following description set forth in detail certain means embodying my invention, the disclosed means constituting but one of various mechanical forms in which the principle of the invention may be applied.

Figure 1 of the drawing illustrates diagrammatically the gas producer of a gasgenerating apparatus and duct for supplying air thereto, arranged in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 illustrates diagrammatically apparatus embodying my invention in a modified form;

Referring first to the structure illustrated by Fig. 1, the one end of the duct A is connected in the usual manner with the generator or gas-producer B, a suitable valve C being provided in the duct and near the producer, whereby the latter may beconnected with or cut off from the air-supply. The other end of the duct a suitableaii supply (not shown),.such as a blower.

Located in the duct and intermediatoly of the valve C and the air supply is a resistanceplate D fixed to an oscillatory rod (Z, suitably mounted in the sides of the duct. This plate is of a form such as to correspond with the cross section of the duct, whereby it may be made to practically close-the same when itoccupies a position perpendicular to the ducts axis, after the manner of an ordinary butterfly valve. One end of the rod (Z projects some distance on the outside of the.

duct and has fixedly secured thereto an arm' e. Articulating with this arm is a rod e which is connected with the diaphragm e of a pressure-operated device E of the usual and wellknown construction, wherein two pressure -chambers are formed one upon each of the opposite sides of said dia )hra-gm, and the latter is actuated as a resu t of an excess of pressure in one of the chambers over that of the other. A suitable is provided, together with adjusting mechanism therefor whereby its tension varied, as will be readily understood.

Located intermediately of plate D and the blower and in duct A, is a second resistanceplate H which is oscillatorily mounted in the sides of the duct. This plate, and its mountings, is arranged so that it may be set in various positions and retain its position when so'set. The outer end of the rod it upon which the plate is mounted is provided with a pointer h, whieh,'in connection with a graduated segment a, indicates the pos1-. tion of plate F, as will be readily understood.

Tapping the duct A on the air-supply'side of the resistance plate H is a pipe a which communicates with that chamber of the pressure-device which is opposite that traversed by the inner end of the rod 6'. A'slmllar pipe e taps the duct A on the producer is connected with spring a side of the resistance-plate and communicates with the other chamber of the device E.

When it is desired to blow the producer, valve 0 is 0 ened Wide and left in that position throng out the blowing operation. The tension of spring 6 and the positions of the plates D and H are previously arranged so as to impart to the latter a position such that a given desired flow of air per minute will be effected past the plates, as is required to produce the previously determined necessary temperature in the producer, under given conditions of resistance to the flow of air through the apparatus. In

the determination of the proper rate of flow, such rate may be varied by varying the tension of the spring or by changing the position of the plate D relatively to the arm 6, or by changing the position of plate H.

Assuming now that the conditions in the apparatus change so as to offer a greater resistance to the fiow of air therethrou h, and that the pressure upon the air-supply side of the resistance plate H is practically constant, such greater resistance will cause the diiference in pressure upon opposite sides of the plate to decrease, and the diaphragm 6 will consequently be flexed so as to move the rod e to move the plate D so as to mcrease the orifice and thus increase the volume of air permitted to pass therethrough. The

momentary change of the rate of flow of the air occasioned by the increase in the resistance to the flow through the apparatus is thus compensated for and the flow per minute through the producer brought to normal. It will therefore be noted that a variable orifice is provided in the duct, the variation of the area of which is automatically controlled by the resistance to the flow of air through the apparatus, which may itself, as a whole, be considered a variable orifice. The area of the opening therefore increases when the resistance to the fiow of air through the generator increases. In other words, the greater the resistance to the flow of air through the generator, the less the resistance offered by the resistance plate to the flow of air through the duct.

The resistance plate I) and its automatically-operated actuating mechanism therefore acts as a governor to automatically maintain a constant fiow'of air per minute through the duct and hence into the producer.

In the application of my invention illus trated in Fig. 2, the automatically adjusted resistance plate D is placed intermediately of the air-supply and the resistance plate H. In this case the air supply is maintained at a substantiall constant pressure, but the pressure of ai'rii to vary. The general result arising from the form of apparatus is however the same as in the previously described forms of my invention, as will be readily understood by those skilled in the art.

In both of the previously described applications of my invention, the air supply mechanism is arranged so as to produce a substantially constant pressure of air.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim and desire tosecure 'by Letters Patent is:

In apparatus of the class described, the combination of the as-generating apparatus; means for supplying air; a duct connecting the latter and said generating apparatus; a resistance plate in said duct adjustable so as to vary the resistance ofi'ered thereby to the flow of air through said duct; a second and movable resistance late in said duct; a pressure-actuated mem er connected with said duct upon opposite sides of said first-named resistance plate; and means connecting the second -na-med resistance plate and said pressure-actuated member.

Signed by me, this 11th day of May,'1909.

PIERRE PLANTINGA.

Attested by- WILLIAM Ross MILLER, Com. B. MUELLER.

etween the two plates is caused 

